Box-labeling machine.



No. 863,069. PATENTED AUG.'13. 1907.

G. 1-1. INM-AN.

BOX LABELING'MAGHINE.

APPLICATION FILED 0012s, 1905.

UNITED STATES GEORGE E. INMAN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

BOX-LABELING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 13, 1907.

Application filed October 28,1905. Serial No- 284,873-

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE E. INMAN, a citizen of the United States, of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Box-Labeling Machines; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to a novel machine for applying labels or covering sheets to paper boxes or box lids which have been previously set up or formed, by the use of corner stays or like means, and in which the label or covering sheet covers the main or top wall and also the side and end walls of the box body or lid.

The machine is designed more especially for applying the label to the lids or covers of telescopic boxes, such, for instance, as are used for containing toilet soap and like articles, although it may be used in some instances for applying a covering sheet to the body portion or member of the box. Inasmuch as the body and lid of a telescopic or other box are alike in structure, the term box as hereinafter used will be understood to mean either a box body or lid.

The invention is shown as embodied in a machine constructed for manual operation and it is in this field that a machine made in accordance with my present invention is of especial value, inasmuch as it is economically within the reach of small box manufacturers to produce work which has heretofore been performed chiefly by hand.

Among the objects of my invention is to provide a simple and inexpensive machine for the purpose set forth so constructed as to accurately center the label or covering sheet on the box when the latter is brought into contact therewith, whereby the work may be acceptably performed by comparatively inexperienced persons and whereby also the output of a skilled or experienced person may be greatly increased, and the cost of the box correspondingly reduced.

A further object of the invention is to enable the application to the box of the label to be effected without soiling the label, which is likely to occur when the label is applied solely by hand.

A machine embodying my invention comprises an upwardly facing, flat support upon which the labels or covering sheets are laid one at a time with their backs facing upwardly, a swinging carrier arm, the free end of which is movable toward and from the support and a block or form attached to the swinging end of said arm and adapted to enter and fit within the box and to support the same; and which, by the swinging of the arm, is carried towards and from the support to enable the box thereon to be pressed against the label on the support; said arm having a limited swinging movement upwardly and rearwardly from the label support and being adapted to maintain an upright position with the working face of the form approximately vertical and facing the operator. Said machine is also provided with guides or gages cooperating with the support, for centering the label relatively to the form, whereby the center of the label and center of the form and the box carried thereby coincide in each depression of the carrier and form. The adjustment of the label support relatively to the form is effected once for each size of label and box, and thereafter the box will always be pressed centrally upon the label without the exercise of skill on the part of the operator. Glue or other adhesive substance is applied to the backs of the labels before they are laid upon the support, so that when the box is pressed upon the label the latter adheres to the main wall of the box. The carrier arm is thereafter lifted and stands in an upright position, with the bottom of the form and the outer face of the box and label which adheres thereto facing the operator, and the side and end margins of the label are then folded against and pasted to the side and end walls of the box, which latter operations may be effected par tially or wholly while the box remains on the form.

The machine shown in the accompanying drawings is illustrative of one practical embodiment of the invention which has been found effective for the purpose set forth.

As shown in the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a machine made in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a transverse, vertical sectional view thereof. Fig. 3 is a vertical sectionalview of a portion of the head and the form which receives the box.

As shown in the drawings, 4 designates a flat topped table, which, in the present instance, is a small or individual table for one machine, and is provided with supporting standards 5.

6 designates the flat, upwardly facing label support, upon which the labels are placed with their glued backs facing upwardly. In the present instance the label support is provided with an elastic pad or cushion, made of thick felt or the like, which rests upon the flat top surface of the table 4.

7 designates a carrier arm which is hinged at one end by a horizontal pivot to the table, and carries at its other or free end a form 8 adapted to enter and to hold or support the boxes to which the labels are to be applied. The hinge for said carrier arm consists of a short transverse sleeve or hub 9 through which extends a horizontal pivot shaft 10 that is fixed at its ends in lugs 11 attached to and rising from the table. The said label support 6 is so disposed that the flat face of the form meets said support, when the carrier arm is swung downwardly, in a plane substantially coincident with a plane passing through the axis of the hinge. This I the carrier arm, which is located in position to strike arrangement prevents au y horizontal movement or shifting of the form relative to the support, when the form is brought against the label support in the swinging motion of the carrier arm, and thereby avoids liability of the box slipping on the label when pressed against the same. In the present instance, the label support 6 is located horizontally on the table 4 and the pivot of the carrier arm is near the level of the top of said table. The said carrier arm 7 is shown as made of generally inverted U-shape, the same comprising a straight central portion 12 and two transverse end portions or arms, 13, l.- l, which are generally parallel with each other. The inner arm 1.3 carries the hinge member 9 and the outer arm 1 1- is provided with a flattened head 15 to which the form is attached by means of bolts 16. This form of carrier arm, while preserving the proper alinement of the pivot with the flat meeting faces of the form and support, facilitates access of the operator to the form for the purpose of applying and removing the boxes and folding the marginal parts of the label upon or against the side and end walls of the box.

In order to bring the labels or covering sheets placed on the support 6 centrally in register with the form 8, adjustable gages 17 and 18 are provided against which are registered the side and end margins of the label. Said gages are provided with slotted attaching bars 19 and 20 secured to the table 4 by bolts 21 and 99 as and,

shown in Fig. 1, whereby the same may be readily adjusted. In cases where the yielding support 6 is employed it is also properly located on said table by said gages and need not be otherwise fixed in place. It is obvious that when. the gages are once adjusted for a label orcovering sheet of given size, such adjustment need not be varied while applying a label of the same size to a box of the same size; and it is further obvious that only the care required on the part of the operator is that necessary to properly locate the label upon the support in contact with the gages. The gages may be adjusted within a considerable range to provide for boxes and labels of varying dimensions; and a plurality of forms of varying dimensions are provided for each machine to correspond with boxes of different shapes and sizes. It will thus be seen that, notwithstanding varying shapes or dimensions of the labels or the boxes, the centers of the labels may always be properly registered with the centers of the boxes and form, whereby is avoided the necessity for the exercise of any particular care or skill in centering the box and labels. The carrier arm '7 is shown as provided with an operating handle, consisting of a cross-bar 23, attached centrally to and extending in opposite directions from the carrier.

The upward and backward movement or swing of the carrier arm is limited by contacting surfaces on the arm and table or machine frame, arranged for contact with each other when the carrier arm reaches a position substantially upright or slightly inclined to the rear; the carrier arm, by the action of said contact surfaces, being maintained in an upright position, with the form carried thereby above the pivot of the arm and with the working or pressing surface of said form facing the operator. In the particular construction illustrated the said contacting surfaces are formed by the rear face of the transverse part or arm 13 of the top surface of the table 4 at a point at the rear of the pivot shaft 10, when the carrier arm reaches a substantially upright position, and to thereby arrest the rearward swing of said carrier arm when the working or pressing surface of the form is approximately vertical and faces the operator. By the construction described, therefore, when the carrier arm is lifted and thrown back, the form and the box thereon are brought into and maintained in such a position that the top wall of the box, to which the label or covering sheet has been applied, faces the operator, and is in position convenient for the subsequent operations of folding and pressing the marginal parts of the label or covering sheet over and against the end and side walls of the box. The said contacting surfaces by which the upward and rearward swing of the arm is limited, are, moreover, so arranged that, when the carrierarm is in its upright position, the center of gravity thereof will be at the rear of the pivotal axis of said arm, so that the arm will be held by its own gravity in an upright position, without the use of any locking means for that purpose. When said carrier arm is made of U-shape, as illustrated, the principal part of the said arm will be located at the rear of the pivotal axis of the arm when the latter is in its upright position, so that when the form is over or nearly over the pivotal axis of the arm, the arm will be held by its own gravity in position to maintain the working face of the form approximately vertical and facing the operator; this being the position of the form and box held thereon which is most convenient for the operator in manipulation 'of the label or covering sheet such as is required for applying the same to the box.

In operation of the machine, the operator, who stands facing the form, applies the box A to the form when the carrier arm is thrown upwardly, in the manner shown in Fig. 2, and thereafter swings the carrier arm downwardly towards the support 6 upon which has been previously laid a label with its glued face upwardly. The box carried by the form is pressed upon the glued label, causing the latter to adhere thereto, and the carrier arm is thereafter swung backwardly into its upright position. The carrier arm swings backwardly until its center of gravity is at the rear of the pivot, and is held in an upright position by contact of the rear arm 13. thereof with the rear margin of the table. The side margins of the label are folded over the sides and partially over the ends of the box and pasted thereto while the box remains on the form and the end margins of the label may also be pasted to the end walls of the box before it is removed from the form. During the latter operation, the form sustains the walls of the box while the label is being pressed against the side and end walls thereof, so as to prevent distortion of said walls. After the label has been thus applied and the box removed from the form, the side and end margins of the label are tucked or folded inwardly over the margins of said side and end walls, thereby completing the box.

The machine made as hereinbefore described may be used not only in applying labels which cover the sides and ends of the box as described, but also in applying to the tops of box lids, labels of the same size or smaller than lids; the labels in either case being held accurately in position relatively to the box holding form, as the lids are pressed against the labels, so that the margins of the labels are brought accurately in position with respect to the edges of the lids.

The machine described may be also used in applying to a box body a piece of straw-board slightly larger than the box bottom, which is glued or pasted to the said bottom so that its margins extend beyond the side and end walls of the box and form a flange or rim thereon; the same being usually called extension bottom. Such extension bottom may obviously be applied to a previously formed box body by the use of the machine described in the same manner that a paper label is applied to the box or box-lid.

I claim as my invention: I

l. A machine for the purpose set forth, comprising an upwardly facing label support. a carrier arm mounted on a horizontal pivot located substantially in the same plane with the top surface of the label support and a box-receiving form attached to the swinging end of the said carrier arm, said carrier arm having an upward and rearward swinging movement and a stop for arresting said move ment, said arm being so constructed and the stop so arranged that when the arm is lifted and thrown rearward, it is maintained in an upright position with the working face of the form substantially vertical and facing the operator.

:3. A machine for the purpose set forth comprising an upwardly facing label support, a carrier arm mounted on a horizontal pivot located substantially in the same plane with the label support, and a box-receiving form attached to and projecting transversely from the swinging end of the carrier arm a distance at least equal to the depth of the box to be labeled, said carrier arm being provided with means limiting its swinging movement when lifted and thrown backward to an upright position and having its center of gravity at the rear of its pivoted axis when in such upright position.

3. A machine for the purpose set forth, comprising an upwardly facing label support, a U-shaped carrier arm one transverse member of which is engaged with a horizontal pivot and a box receiving form attached to the end of the other transverse member of said carrier arm; said carrier arm having a limited upward and rearward swinging movement and being adapted, when lifted and thrown backward into a substantially upright position, to maintain such upright position by its own gravity.

4. A machine for the purpose set forth, comprising an upwardly facing label support having a cushioned or yielding working face, a carrier arm mounted on a horizontal pivot located substantially in the same plane with the top surface of the label support, a box1'ecelving form attached to the swinging end of said carrier arm; said carrier arm having a limited upward and backward swinging movement and being so constructed and arranged that when lifted and thrown rearward it engages the support in a manner to maintain an upright position with the working surface of the form substantially vertical and facing the operator.

A machine for the purpose set forth, comprising a horizontal table, a pad of yielding material resting on said table and forming a label support, adjustable guides or gages secured to said table, a carrier arm, mounted on a horizontal pivot located substantially in the same plane with the label support, and a box-receiving form attached to the swinging end of said carrier arm; said carrier arm having a limited upward and backward swinging movement and being so constructed and arranged that when lifted and thrown rearward it engages the support in a manner to maintain an upright position with the working face of the form substantially vertical and facing the operator. I

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my invention I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses, this 24th day of October A. D. 1905.

GEORGE E. IVMANv Witnesses W. L. HALL', G. Bv VILKINS. 

